Friday

Ryan Donato, the rookie from Scituate who was recalled from AHL Providence on Wednesday, scored the only goal of the shootout on Thursday night to give the Bruins a 2-1 decision over the Islanders

BOSTON -- The Bruins paid tribute to Rick “Nifty” Middleton on Thursday night by making his uniform No. 16 the 11th number to be retired.

Ryan Donato, who used to wear No. 16 in part because his father Ted -- the former Bruin who coached his son at Harvard University through last season -- was a big Middleton fan, paid something like a tribute long after Thursday’s pre-game ceremony at TD Garden.

Playing in his first game since the B’s recalled him from a 10-game stint at AHL Providence, Donato scored the only goal of a shootout on a nifty fake to his backhand against goalie Robin Lehner to give the Bruins a 2-1 victory over the Islanders.

“When I was in Providence, I went home a couple times and my dad was showing me some highlights of (Middleton),” said Donato, the rookie from Scituate who scored only one point -- a goal in the second game of the season -- over 11 games before the Bruins assigned him to the P-Bruins. “I knew if he was my dad’s favorite player, it meant a lot to him that I was able to play in this game. It was really cool to be a part of that.”

Donato, who burst into the NHL last season with 5-4--9 totals over 12 games after completing his junior season at Harvard, also went 5-4--9 over 10 games once assigned to Providence on Nov. 1. The Bruins recalled him on Wednesday.

“You want to make sure you have an immediate impact on the game, to show the coaches and the staff that you’ve developed in your time there,” said Donato, who converted his only previous shootout attempt last season against Winnipeg. “I tried to do that to the best of my ability, and hopefully I proved that today.”

Donato actually didn’t play all that much against the Isles (15 shifts, 10:41), but got off three shots and earned coach Bruce Cassidy’s approval.

“He was clean. He wanted to get pucks to the net,” the coach said. “He wanted to manage his game -- his shift length, his details. I thought he did that. The time he did get, I thought he used to his advantage.

“Nice goal in the shootout. We know he can score.”

Donato wouldn’t have had the shootout opportunity if not for Tuukka Rask (28 saves), who stopped all four breakaway bids after extending the game with six overtime stops. An apparent overtime winner by Mathew Barzal was disallowed because Anthony Beauvillier interfered with Rask.

Donato was part of yet another new lineup, as the Bruins played again without five of their regular defensemen plus No. 1 center Patrice Bergeron, who missed his sixth game with rib and sternoclavicular injuries. They’re now 4-1-1 since Bergeron got hurt.

“We’re trying to understand how we can win hockey games and collect points while we’re missing key players,” Cassidy said. “At the end of the day, you’ve got to give credit where it’s due, and that’s the goaltending. It’s been rock solid for us.”

The latest version of the lineup outshot the Isles in the first period, 13-7, but fell behind at 12:17 when Anders Lee pushed a loose puck through Rask’s knees before he could cover it with his glove.

Brad Marchand, goal-less in his previous seven games, made it 1-1 during a power play goal with 7:51 left in the second. Torey Krug started the scoring play by keeping a puck in at the left point, with David Pastrnak picking it up and carrying it toward the slot. Pastrnak found Marchand in the right circle, from where Marchand’s one-time snapper got through the legs of Lehner and caught the far side.

The Bruins’ staggering injury issues seemed to mount on the last shift of the second period when Thomas Hickey caught David Krejci with his head down at center ice and hit him with enough force to knock out two of his teeth. Krejci missed the first shift of the third, but returned after that and took a regular shift.

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